Brother Dash

Beginnings
Brother Dash (Dasham K. Brookins) is a Poet, Essayist and Sceenwriter. Most of his work focuses culture, self-introspection, socio-political issues and religion & spirituality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York Dash spent his formative years in that city’s most populous borough before moving a
cross the river in high school to New Jersey. At a very young age he showed a keen interest in reading and an affinity for language. He took a particularly unique interest in reading daily newspapers at the age of 7 and began developing vocabulary skills somewhat advanced for his age. It was not however until his matriculation at Rutgers University that he started to write and perform more seriously as he began to pursue his interest in theatrical writing and production.

Faith
While at Rutgers University Dasham (he had yet to begin to use the name ‘Brother Dash’) who had also begun to evaluate his own spirituality having been raised in a moderately religious though staunchly spiritual family. . “I eventually decided to leave what I called organized religion for a less ‘restrictive’ spiritual path. But I still continued to study religion and remain somewhat open to different paths. Over time the religion of Islam started to resonate with me more and more and it softened my anti-organized religion stance through its simplicity, acceptance of Jesus, Moses, Abraham and other prophets and its emphasis on a direct connection with God”, says Dash. “One morning my heart just desired to be Muslim. It was the strongest feeling I ever experienced. So I chose Islam and haven’t looked back since. Over the years my personal faith has evolved to be more expansive and non-dogmatic. I just want to be of benefit to those around me and be pleasing to The Creator. Period.”

Influences
Like most writers Brother Dash’s work is informed by his experiences. Those experiences give rise to perspectives and various narratives that help to create believable stories for his fiction and powerful points-of-view for his essays and poetry. Specifically Dash has been heavily influenced by a better-than-average understanding of history and current events especially as it pertains to underserved groups, diverse cultures and peoples. In addition his keen interest in religion and spirituality is evidenced in his writing. And lastly his own creative quirkiness and eccentricities provide a unique brand of humor and wit to much of his work. All of this helps to create a great deal of nuanced balance in his writing and spoken word. To me balance means being true to who I am, a person of faith and consciousness and to believe in compassion, wisdom and understanding. Not every problem is a nail and not every solution is a hammer.”

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